U.S. patent number 7,805,775 [Application Number 10/562,192] was granted by the patent office on 2010-10-05 for neck cover for full face type helmet and full face type helmet.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Shoei Co., Ltd.. Invention is credited to Yoshiyuki Ikeda.
United States Patent |
7,805,775 |
Ikeda |
October 5, 2010 |
Neck cover for full face type helmet and full face type helmet
Abstract
A neck cover (51) includes a flexible cover member (53) and a
to-be-attached portion (52) which serves to attach the flexible
cover member (53) to a head protecting body (3) of a full-face-type
helmet (1). The flexible cover member (53) comprises a
substantially plate-like flexible cushion member (56) and a
flexible support member (57) which supports the flexible cushion
member (56). The flexible cover member (53) is mainly made of a
substantially plate-like foamed synthetic resin, a permeability of
which measured by using a Frajour type method based on JIS L 1096
falls within a range of 0.1 to 10 cc/cm.sup.2sec (preferably 0.2 to
5 cc/cm.sup.2sec and more preferably 0.3 to 2 cc/cm.sup.2sec).
Therefore, a sound which is generated by a traveling wind as it is
caught in a ventilator, stabilizer, or the like is effectively
prevented from being heard as loud noise to a helmet wearer.
Inventors: |
Ikeda; Yoshiyuki (Ryugasaki,
JP) |
Assignee: |
Shoei Co., Ltd.
(JP)
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Family
ID: |
35502756 |
Appl.
No.: |
10/562,192 |
Filed: |
September 10, 2004 |
PCT
Filed: |
September 10, 2004 |
PCT No.: |
PCT/JP2004/013208 |
371(c)(1),(2),(4) Date: |
December 22, 2005 |
PCT
Pub. No.: |
WO2005/120264 |
PCT
Pub. Date: |
December 22, 2005 |
Prior Publication Data
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Document
Identifier |
Publication Date |
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US 20060195973 A1 |
Sep 7, 2006 |
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Foreign Application Priority Data
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Jun 7, 2004 [JP] |
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2004-168597 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
2/415; 2/411 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A42B
3/105 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A42B
3/00 (20060101) |
Field of
Search: |
;2/410-412,415,424 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
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8012111 |
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Jul 1980 |
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DE |
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3419302 |
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Nov 1985 |
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DE |
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1391158 |
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Feb 2004 |
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EP |
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Primary Examiner: Hurley; Shaun R
Assistant Examiner: Sutton; Andrew W
Claims
The invention claimed is:
1. A full-face-type helmet neck cover which is configured to be
attached to near a lower end of a head protecting body of a
full-face-type helmet, comprising: a flexible cover member and a
to-be-attached portion which serves to attach said flexible cover
member to said head protecting body, said flexible cover member
comprising a substantially plate-like flexible cushion member which
is mainly made of a substantially plate-like foamed synthetic
resin, and a flexible support member which supports said flexible
cushion member, wherein a permeability of the foamed synthetic
resin measured by using a Frajour type method based on JIS L 1096
falls within a range of 0.2 to 5 cc/cm.sup.2sec.
2. A neck cover according to claim 1, characterized in that said
flexible support member is made of a substantially non-permeable
sheet-type material, and said flexible support member covers said
flexible cushion member substantially entirely like a bag.
3. A neck cover according to claim 2, characterized in that said
sheet-type material comprises an artificial leather sheet.
4. A neck cover according to claim 1, characterized in that the
permeability of the foamed synthetic resin falls within a range of
0.3 to 2 cc/cm.sup.2sec.
5. A neck cover according to claim 1, characterized in that a
density of the foamed synthetic resin falls within a range of 30 to
60 kg/cm.sup.3, and an average thickness of said flexible cushion
member falls within a range of 6 to 12 mm.
6. A neck cover according to claim 5, characterized in that the
foamed synthetic resin comprises urethane foam.
7. A neck cover according to claim 5, characterized in that said
flexible cushion member is made of only a foamed synthetic
resin.
8. A neck cover according to claim 5, characterized in that said
to-be-attached portion comprises a substantially plate-like elastic
to-be-attached member which serves as a shape holding member as
well, and said flexible cover member attached to said
to-be-attached member serving as said shape holding member is held
in a substantially predetermined shape by said to-be-attached
member serving as said shape holding member.
9. A neck cover according to claim 5, characterized in that said
flexible cover member has a substantially annular shape with a
missing portion which corresponds to substantially a central
portion of a front portion of said head protecting body.
10. A neck cover according to claim 9, characterized in that said
missing portion comprises an intermittent portion, so that left and
right ends of said flexible cover member are present on left and
right sides of said intermittent portion.
11. A full-face-type helmet with a neck cover which comprises a
full-face-type helmet and a full-face-type helmet neck cover which
is configured to be attached to near a lower end of a head
protecting body of said full-face-type helmet, comprising: said
neck cover comprises a flexible cover member and a to-be-attached
portion which serves to attach said flexible cover member to said
head protecting body, said flexible cover member comprising a
substantially plate-like flexible cushion member which is mainly
made of a substantially plate-like foamed synthetic resin, and a
flexible support member which supports said flexible cushion
member, and a permeability of the foamed synthetic resin measured
by using a Frajour type method based on JIS L 1096 falls within a
range of 0.2 to 5 cc/cm.sup.2sec.
12. A helmet according to claim 11, characterized in that the
permeability of the foamed synthetic resin falls within a range of
0.3 to 2 cc/cm.sup.2sec.
13. A helmet according to claim 12, characterized in that the
foamed synthetic resin comprises urethane foam.
14. A helmet according to claim 12, characterized in that said
full-face-type helmet comprises a neck pad attached to near the
lower end of said head protecting body, said neck pad comprising a
thin plate-like second flexible cushion member and a second
flexible support member which supports said second flexible cushion
member, said second flexible support member being attached to said
head protecting body, said flexible cover member of said neck cover
covering said neck pad at least partially from below in an attached
state wherein said neck cover is attached to near the lower end of
said head protecting body, and said to-be-attached portion of said
neck cover is inserted between an inner surface of an outer shell
of said head protecting body and an outer, surface of a backing
member of said head protecting body substantially upward from
substantially below to attach said neck cover to said head
protecting body.
15. A helmet according to claim 12, characterized in that in an
attached state wherein said neck cover is attached to said head
protecting body, a proportion of an area of said flexible cover
member in an area of a lower opening of an outer shell of said head
protecting body falls within a range of 48% to 74%, in the above
attached state, a proportion of a circumferential length of said
flexible cover member along a circumference of said lower opening
in a circumferential length of said lower opening falls within a
range of 80% to 90%, and in the above attached state, a proportion
of an inner circumferential length of said flexible cover member to
an outer circumferential length of said flexible cover member falls
within a range of 70% to 88%.
16. A full-face-type helmet with a chin cover/neck cover
comprising: a full-face-type helmet, a full-face-type helmet neck
cover which is configured to be attached to near a lower end of a
head protecting body of said full-face-type helmet, and a
full-face-type helmet chin cover which is configured to be attached
to near the lower end of said head protecting body, characterized
in that said neck cover comprises a flexible cover member and a
to-be-attached portion which serves to attach said flexible cover
member to said head protecting body, said flexible cover member
comprising a substantially plate-like flexible cushion member which
is mainly made of a substantially plate-like foamed synthetic
resin, and a flexible support member which supports said flexible
cushion member, a permeability of the foamed synthetic resin
measured by using a Frajour type method based on JIS L 1096 falls
within a range of 0.2 to 5 cc/cm.sup.2sec, said flexible cover
member having a missing portion which corresponds to substantially
a central portion of a front portion of said head protecting body,
said chin cover comprises a second flexible cover member having a
porous, permeable flexible cover main body, and a second
to-be-attached portion which serves to attach said second flexible
cover member to near the lower end of said head protecting body,
and in an attached state wherein both said neck cover and said chin
cover are attached to near the lower end of said head protecting
body, said neck cover overlaps both left and right ends of said
chin cover, and at the missing portion, the substantially central
portion of said second flexible cover member of said chin cover
does not overlap said flexible cover member of said neck cover.
17. A helmet according to claim 16, characterized in that the
permeability of the foamed synthetic resin falls within a range of
0.3 to 2 cc/cm.sup.2sec.
18. A helmet according to claim 17, characterized in that the
foamed synthetic resin comprises urethane foam.
19. A helmet according to claim 17, characterized in that said
flexible cover main body of said second flexible cover member is
made of mesh cloth.
20. A helmet according to claim 17, characterized in that said
missing portion comprises an intermittent portion, and in an
attached state wherein both said neck cover and said chin cover are
attached to near the lower end of said head protecting body, left
and right ends of said neck cover respectively overlap left and
right ends of said chin cover.
21. A helmet according to claim 17, characterized in that said
second to-be-attached portion comprises a substantially plate-like
elastic second to-be-attached member which also serves as a second
shape holding member, said second flexible cover member attached to
said second to-be-attached member which also serves as said second
shape holding member is held in a substantially predetermined shape
by said second to-be-attached member which also serves as said
second shape holding member, and said second to-be-attached portion
of said chin cover is inserted between an inner surface of an outer
shell of said head protecting body and an outer surface of a
backing member of said head protecting body substantially upward
from substantially below to attach said chin cover to said head
protecting body.
22. A helmet according to claim 17, characterized in that said
second flexible cover member has a wide, substantially
crescent-like shape which is substantially close to a half moon,
and said second flexible cover member comprises said flexible cover
main body and a flexible rim member attached to said flexible cover
main body.
23. A helmet according to claim 17, characterized in that in an
attached state wherein said chin cover is attached to said head
protecting body, a proportion of an area of said second flexible
cover member in an area of a lower opening of an outer shell of
said head protecting body falls within a range of 18% to 28%, and
in the above attached state, a proportion of a circumferential
length of said second flexible cover member along a circumference
of said lower opening in a circumferential length of said lower
opening falls within a range of 34% to 46%.
24. A helmet according to claim 17, characterized in that in an
attached state wherein said chin cover is attached to said head
protecting body, a proportion of an area of said flexible cover
main body of said second flexible cover member in an area of a
lower opening of an outer shell of said head protecting body falls
within a range of 12% to 22%, and in the above attached state, a
proportion of a circumferential length of said flexible cover main
body along a circumference of said lower opening in a
circumferential length of said lower opening falls within a range
of 30% to 42%.
25. A helmet according to claim 17, characterized in that in an
attached state wherein both said chin cover and neck cover are
attached to said head protecting body, a proportion of an area of a
portion of said second flexible cover member, which does not
overlap said flexible cover member, in an area of a lower opening
of an outer shell of said head protecting body falls within a range
of 9% to 13%, and in the above attached state, a proportion of a
circumferential length of a portion of said second flexible cover
member, which does not overlap said flexible cover member, along a
circumference of said lower opening in a circumferential length of
said lower opening falls within a range of 10% to 20%.
26. A helmet according to claim 17, characterized in that in an
attached state wherein both said chin cover and neck cover are
attached to said head protecting body, a proportion of an area of a
portion of said flexible cover main body of said second flexible
cover member, which does not overlap said flexible cover member, in
an area of a lower opening of an outer shell of said head
protecting body falls within a range of 8% to 14%.
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to a full-face-type helmet neck cover
which is configured to be attached to near a lower end of a head
protecting body of a full-face-type helmet to cover the vicinity of
the neck of a helmet wearer. The present invention also relates to
a full-face-type helmet with a neck cover which uses this neck
cover, and a full-face-type helmet with a chin cover and a neck
cover (to be referred to as a "full-face-type helmet with a chin
cover/neck cover" in this specification) which use this neck
cover.
BACKGROUND ART
A full-face-type helmet neck cover as described above is described
in U.S. Pat. No. 6,308,343B1. The neck cover described in this
patent reference includes a substantially U-shaped elastic
to-be-attached member which serves as an elastic shape holding
member, a substantially U-shaped flexible cover member which is
attached to the elastic to-be-attached member and made of urethane
foam, and a pair of left and right locking means which are attached
to the left and right front ends of the flexible cover member. The
pair of left and right locking means are used to lock the distal
ends of the left and right front ends of the flexible cover member
with cheek inside members, a head inside member, or an outer shell
while the left and right ends are bent upward to extend
substantially in L-letter shapes from the lower end face to the
front end face of the cheek inside member. When the neck cover is
to be attached to a full-face-type helmet, the elastic
to-be-attached member is inserted between the outer shell, and the
head inside member and cheek inside members. Thus, the flexible
cover member is disposed to cover the rear portion and left and
right side portions of the neck of the helmet wearer. The pair of
left and right locking members are locked by the cheek inside
members, the head inside member, or the outer shell.
When a helmet wearer puts the full-face-type helmet with the neck
cover obtained in this manner on his or her head and rides a
motorbike, a traveling wind is prevented by the neck cover to a
certain degree from entering the head accommodating space of the
helmet through the gap between the lower ends of the head inside
member and cheek inside members of the helmet, and around the neck
of the helmet wearer. Also, a sound which is generated by the
traveling wind as it is caught in the ventilator, stabilizer, or
the like of the helmet is prevented to a certain degree from
entering the head accommodating space in the same manner.
A full-face-type helmet chin cover which is configured to be
attached to a full-face-type helmet to cover the vicinity of the
chin of the helmet wearer is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,412,810.
The chin cover described in this patent reference is formed of an
elastic to-be-attached member which serves as an elastic shape
holding member, and a flexible cover member which is made of mesh
cloth and attached to the elastic to-be-attached member. When the
chin cover is to be attached to the full-face-type helmet, the
elastic to-be-attached member is inserted between an outer shell
and an impact-on-the-chin-and-cheek absorbing liner. Thus, the
flexible cover member is disposed to cover the vicinity of the chin
of the helmet wearer from below.
When the helmet wearer puts the full-face-type helmet with the chin
cover obtained in this manner on his or her head and rides a
motorbike, a traveling wind which blows the chest of the helmet
wearer and is directed toward the chin is prevented by the flexible
cover member to a considerable degree. Hence, the traveling wind is
prevented to a certain degree from entering the head accommodating
space of the helmet through the gap between the lower end of the
chin cover of the helmet and the chin of the helmet wearer. Also, a
sound which is generated by the traveling wind as it is caught in
the ventilator, the stabilizer, or the like of the helmet is
prevented to a certain degree from entering the head accommodating
space through the gap between the lower end of the inside member of
the helmet and around the neck of the helmet wearer.
Recently, the structure of an air supply ventilator, an air exhaust
ventilator, or an air supply/exhaust ventilator, an air flow
straightening stabilizer, or the like attached to the outer shell
of a full-face-type helmet has become complicated and bulky.
Accordingly, the volume of the sound which is generated by a
traveling wind as it is caught in such a ventilator or a stabilizer
has become particularly large. The sound of the caught-in traveling
wind is heard as large noise even to the helmet wearer who wears
the known full-face-type helmet with the neck cover on his
head.
In particular, urethane foam which is used as the material of the
flexible cover member of the known full-face-type helmet with the
neck cover is basically formed of open cell bodies for the sake of
flexibility and accordingly has comparably large permeability. When
the sound of the caught-in traveling wind is particularly large, it
is heard as loud noise to the helmet wearer partly because the
urethane foam is comparatively thin.
The present inventor thought out forming a full-face-type helmet
with a chin cover/neck cover by attaching the chin cover of the
known full-face-type helmet with the chin cover as described above
to the known full-face-type helmet with the neck cover as described
above. Even with the full-face-type helmet with the chin cover/neck
cover, the caught-in traveling wind is heard as particularly loud
noise to the helmet wearer in the same manner as with the known
full-face-type helmet with the neck cover.
In view of this, the present inventor attempted to change the
material of the flexible cover member of the chin cover of the
full-face-type helmet with the chin cover/neck cover from mesh
cloth having good permeability to a flexible foamed synthetic resin
which does not have good permeability. With the full-face-type
helmet with the chin cover/neck cover made of the flexible foamed
synthetic resin, a traveling wind which blows the chest of the
helmet wearer and is directed toward the chin of the helmet wearer
and other traveling winds are interrupted to a considerable degree
by the flexible cover member of the chin cover and the flexible
cover member of the neck cover. Then, the inner surface of the
shield plate tends to be fogged easily, and the helmet wearer can
hardly hear the external voice and sound.
The present invention aims at effectively correcting the above
drawbacks of the known full-face-type helmet with the neck cover
and the two types of full-face-type helmets with the chin
cover/neck cover as described above with a comparatively simple
structure.
DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION
According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is
provided a full-face-type helmet neck cover which is configured to
be attached to near a lower end of a head protecting body of a
full-face-type helmet, characterized by comprising a flexible cover
member and a to-be-attached portion which serves to attach the
flexible cover member to the head protecting body, the flexible
cover member comprising a substantially plate-like flexible cushion
member which is mainly made of a substantially plate-like foamed
synthetic resin, and a flexible support member which supports the
cushion member, wherein a permeability of the foamed synthetic
resin measured by using a Frajour type method based on JIS L 1096
falls within a range of 0.1 to 10 cc/cm.sup.2sec (preferably 0.2 to
5 cc/cm.sup.2sec and more preferably 0.3 to 2 cc/cm.sup.2sec).
JIS L 1096 described above stands for Japanese Industrial Standards
"L 1069". According to the Frajour type method (i.e., method A in
JIS L 1096), five test samples each having a size of about 20
cm.times.20 cm are extracted from different portions of a sample.
Using a predetermined Frajour type testing machine, each test
sample is attached to one end of a cylinder. The suction fan is
adjusted by a rheostat such that an inclination type barometer
exhibits a pressure of 125 Pa {1.27 cmH.sub.2O}. The quantity
(cm.sup.3/cm.sup.2sec) of air that passes through the test sample
is obtained from the pressure indicated by a vertical barometer and
the type of the employed air hole by referring to a table attached
to the Frajour type testing machine. Measurement is performed five
times. An average value is calculated and rounded to the first
decimal place. In the Frajour type testing machine, the inner
cylinder has a mass of 142 g, and the test sample clamp plate has
an effective area of 64 mm.sup.2 (diameter of aperture: 9 mm). In
an appropriate case, the Frajour type testing machine has a
predetermined structure with an outer cylinder (height: 254 mm,
inner diameter: 82.6 mm), an inner cylinder (height: 254 mm, outer
diameter: 76.2 mm, inner diameter: 74 mm, and mass: 567 g) and a
test sample clamp plate with an effective area of 642 mm.sup.2
(diameter of aperture: 28.6 mm).
According to the first aspect of the present invention, preferably,
the flexible support member is made of a substantially
non-permeable sheet-type material such as an artificial leather
sheet, and the flexible support member covers the flexible cushion
member substantially entirely like a bag. Preferably, a density of
the foamed synthetic resin falls within a range of 20 to 80
kg/m.sup.3 (more preferably 25 to 70 kg/m.sup.3, and most
preferably 30 to 60 kg/cm.sup.3). Preferably, an average thickness
of the flexible cushion member falls within a range of 4 to 18 mm
(preferably 6 to 12 mm). Preferably, the foamed synthetic resin
comprises urethane foam. The flexible cushion member can be made of
only a foamed synthetic resin.
According to the first aspect of the present invention, the
to-be-attached portion comprises a substantially plate-like elastic
to-be-attached member which serves as a shape holding member as
well, and the flexible cover member attached to the to-be-attached
member serving as the shape holding member is held in a
substantially predetermined shape by the to-be-attached member
serving as the shape holding member. The flexible cover member can
have a substantially annular shape with a missing portion which
corresponds to substantially the central portion of the front
portion of the head protecting body. The missing portion can
comprise an intermittent portion, so that the left and right ends
of the flexible cover member can be present on the left and right
sides of the intermittent portion, respectively. The to-be-attached
portion can have a substantially annular shape with a missing
portion which corresponds to substantially a central portion of a
front portion of the head protecting body.
According to the second aspect of the present invention, there is
provided a full-face-type helmet with a neck cover, characterized
by comprising a full-face-type helmet and a full-face-type helmet
neck cover according to the first aspect which is configured to be
attached to near a lower end of a head protecting body of the
full-face-type helmet.
According to the second aspect of the present invention,
preferably, the full-face-type helmet comprises a neck pad attached
to near the lower end of the head protecting body, the neck pad
comprises a thin plate-like second flexible cushion member and a
second flexible support member which supports the second flexible
cushion member, the second flexible support member is attached to
the head protecting body, and in an attached state wherein the neck
cover is attached to near the lower end of the head protecting
body, the flexible cover member of the neck cover covers the neck
pad at least partially from substantially below. Preferably, the
to-be-attached portion of the neck cover is inserted between the
inner surface of the outer shell of the head protecting body and an
outer surface of a backing member of the head protecting body
substantially upward from substantially below to attach the neck
cover to the head protecting body. In an attached state wherein the
neck cover is attached to the head protecting body, preferably, the
proportion of the area of the flexible cover member in the area of
a lower opening of an outer shell of the head protecting body falls
within a range of 38% to 88% (more preferably 48% to 74%), in the
above attached state, a proportion of a circumferential length of
the flexible cover member along a circumference of the lower
opening in a circumferential length of the lower opening falls
within a range of 70% to 94% (more preferably 80% to 90%), and in
the above attached state, a proportion of an inner circumferential
length of the flexible cover member to an outer circumferential
length of the flexible cover member falls within a range of 58% to
94% (more preferably 70% to 88%).
According to the third aspect of the present invention, there is
provided a full-face-type helmet with a chin cover/neck cover
comprising a full-face-type helmet according to the second aspect,
a full-face-type helmet neck cover according to the first aspect or
the first and second aspects which is configured to be attached to
near a lower end of a head protecting body of the full-face-type
helmet, and a full-face-type helmet chin cover which is configured
to be attached to near the lower end of the head protecting body,
characterized in that the flexible cover member of the neck cover
has a missing portion which corresponds to substantially a central
portion of a front portion of the head protecting body, the chin
cover comprises a second flexible cover member having a porous,
permeable flexible cover main body, and a second to-be-attached
portion which serves to attach the second flexible cover member to
near the lower end of the head protecting body, and in an attached
state wherein both the neck cover and the chin cover are attached
to near the lower end of the head protecting body, the neck cover
overlaps both left and right ends of the chin cover, and at the
missing portion, the substantially central portion of the second
flexible cover member of the chin cover does not overlap the
flexible cover member of the neck cover.
According to the third aspect of the present invention, preferably,
the flexible cover main body of the second flexible cover member is
made of mesh cloth. Preferably, the missing portion comprises an
intermittent portion, and in an attached state wherein both the
neck cover and the chin cover are attached to near the lower end of
the head protecting body, left and right ends of the neck cover
respectively overlap left and right ends of the chin cover.
Preferably, the second to-be-attached portion comprises a
substantially plate-like elastic second to-be-attached member which
also serves as a second shape holding member, and the second
flexible cover member attached to the second to-be-attached member
which also serves as the second shape holding member is held in a
substantially predetermined shape by the second to-be-attached
member which also serves as the second shape holding member. The
second flexible cover member can have a wide, substantially
crescent-like shape which is substantially close to a half moon.
The second flexible cover member can comprise the flexible cover
main body and a flexible rim member attached to the flexible cover
main body. Preferably, the second to-be-attached portion of the
chin cover is inserted between the inner surface of an outer shell
of the head protecting body and an outer surface of a backing
member of the head protecting body substantially upward from
substantially below to attach the chin cover to the head protecting
body.
According to the third aspect of the present invention, preferably,
in an attached state wherein the chin cover is attached to the head
protecting body, a proportion of an area of the second flexible
cover member in an area of a lower opening of an outer shell of the
head protecting body falls within a range of 14% to 34% (more
preferably 18% to 28%), and in the above attached state, a
proportion of a circumferential length of the second flexible cover
member along the circumference of the lower opening in a
circumferential length of the lower opening falls within a range of
28% to 52% (more preferably 34% to 46%). Preferably, in the
attached state wherein the chin cover is attached to the head
protecting body, a proportion of an area of the flexible cover main
body of the second flexible cover member in an area of a lower
opening of an outer shell of the head protecting body falls within
a range of 8% to 26% (more preferably 12% to 22%), and in the above
attached state, a proportion of a circumferential length of the
flexible cover main body along a circumference of the lower opening
in a circumferential length of the lower opening falls within a
range of 24% to 48% (more preferably 30% to 42%). Preferably, in an
attached state wherein both the chin cover and the neck cover are
attached to the head protecting body, a proportion of an area of a
portion of the second flexible cover member, which does not overlap
the flexible cover member, in an area of a lower opening of an
outer shell of the head protecting body falls within a range of 7%
to 16% (more preferably 9% to 13%), and in the above attached
state, a proportion of a circumferential length of a portion of the
second flexible cover member, which does not overlap the flexible
cover member, along a circumference of the lower opening in a
circumferential length of the lower opening falls within a range of
6% to 30% (more preferably 10% to 20%). Preferably, in the attached
state wherein both the chin cover and the neck cover are attached
to the head protecting body, a proportion of an area of a portion
of the flexible cover main body of the second flexible cover
member, which does not overlap the flexible cover member, in an
area of a lower opening of an outer shell of the head protecting
body falls within a range of 6% to 16% (more preferably, 8% to
14%).
According to the first to third aspects of the present invention,
in a region around the neck of the helmet wearer which is covered
by the flexible cover member of the neck cover, a traveling wind
and sound generated by it are reliably prevented from entering the
head accommodating space of the helmet through the gap between the
lower end of the head protecting body of the helmet and around the
neck of the helmet wearer. Therefore, the sound which is generated
by the traveling wind as the wind is caught in a ventilator,
stabilizer, or the like can be effectively prevented from being
heard as loud noise to the helmet wearer.
According to the third aspect of the present invention, the
traveling wind which blows the chest of the helmet wearer and is
directed toward the chin flows into the head protecting space from
that region of the flexible cover member of the chin cover, which
corresponds to the missing portion of the neck cover, toward the
inner surface of the shield plate. Hence, the inner surface of the
shield plate can be effectively prevented from being fogged. Also,
an external voice and sound can be heard to a certain degree mainly
through the region corresponding to the intermittent portion.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective view, seen from obliquely behind and
obliquely below, of a full-face-type helmet with a chin cover/neck
cover according to an embodiment to which the present invention is
applied;
FIG. 2 is a sectional view, taken along the line A-A of FIG. 3, of
the full-face-type helmet with the chin cover/neck cover shown in
FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a sectional view, taken along the line B-B of FIG. 2, of
the full-face-type helmet with the chin cover/neck cover shown in
FIG. 1;
FIG. 4 is a bottom view of the full-face-type helmet with the chin
cover/neck cover shown in FIG. 1;
FIG. 5 is a bottom view, similar to FIG. 4, of the full-face-type
helmet with the chin cover/neck cover shown in FIG. 4 in which the
full-face-type helmet is indicated by an alternate long and short
dashed line;
FIG. 6 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view of the vicinity
of the central portion of the full-face-type helmet with the chin
cover/neck cover shown in FIG. 2 (the first embodiment);
FIG. 7 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view of the vicinity
of the central portion of the full-face-type helmet with the chin
cover/neck cover shown in FIG. 2;
FIG. 8 is a perspective view, seen from obliquely behind and
obliquely below, of the full-face-type helmet shown in FIG. 1;
FIG. 9 is a sectional view, taken along the line C-C of FIG. 10, of
the full-face-type helmet shown in FIG. 8;
FIG. 10 is a sectional view, taken along the line D-D of FIG. 9, of
the full-face-type helmet shown in FIG. 8;
FIG. 11 is a perspective view, seen from obliquely ahead and
obliquely above, of the chin cover shown in FIG. 1;
FIG. 12 is a plan view of the chin cover shown in FIG. 11;
FIG. 13 is a perspective view, seen from obliquely ahead and
obliquely above, of the neck cover shown in FIG. 1;
FIG. 14 is a plan view of the neck cover shown in FIG. 13 in which
the flexible support member and elastic to-be-attached member on
the left half are respectively indicated by alternate long and
short dashed lines;
FIG. 15 is a perspective view, seen from obliquely behind and
obliquely below, of a full-face-type helmet with a chin cover which
is formed by attaching only the chin cover shown in FIG. 11 to the
full-face-type helmet shown in FIG. 8;
FIG. 16 is a longitudinal sectional view, similar to FIG. 2, of the
full-face-type helmet with the chin cover shown in FIG. 15;
FIG. 17 is a perspective view, seen from obliquely behind and
obliquely below, of a full-face-type helmet with a neck cover which
is formed by attaching only the neck cover shown in FIG. 13 to the
full-face-type helmet shown in FIG. 8;
FIG. 18 is a longitudinal sectional view, similar to FIG. 2, of the
full-face-type helmet with the neck cover shown in FIG. 17; and
FIG. 19 is a graph showing experimental data in comparison on the
full-face-type helmet with the chin cover/neck cover shown in FIG.
1 and the full-face-type helmet shown in FIG. 8.
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
A full-face-type helmet with a chin cover/neck cover according to
an embodiment to which the present invention is applied will be
described in "1. Structure of Full-Face-Type Helmet", "2. Structure
of Chin Cover", "3. Structure of Neck Cover" and "4. How to Attach
Chin Cover and Neck Cover to Helmet" with reference to the
accompanying drawings.
1. Structure of full-face-Type Helmet
A full-face-type helmet 1 is shown as a single member in FIGS. 8, 9
and 10. As shown in FIGS. 8 to 10, the full-face-type helmet 1
includes
(a) a full-face-type head protecting cap body 3 to be worn on the
head of a helmet wearer 2,
(b) a shield plate 5 which can open/close a window opening 4 formed
in the front surface of the head protecting body 3 to oppose a
portion (i.e., the upper portion of the face) between a vertex 2a
and mouth 2b of the helmet wearer 2, and
(c) a pair of left and right chin straps 6 attached to the inside
of the head protecting body 3.
As has been well known, the shield plate 5 can be made of a hard
synthetic resin such as polycarbonate or another transparent or
translucent hard material, and be attached to the head protecting
body 3 with a pair of left and right attaching screws 7 to be
pivotal forward and backward substantially in a vertical direction.
The shield plate 5 closes the window opening 4 when located at the
backward pivoting position shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, and opens the
window opening 4 when located at the forward pivoting position
which the shield plate 5 reaches by pivoting upward from the
backward pivoting position. At the intermediate position between
the two positions, the shield plate 5 can partly open the window
opening 4. In FIG. 8, reference numeral 11 denotes a tab provided
to the shield plate 5. The tab 11 is held by the helmet wearer 2
with his fingers when he is to pivot upward and downward the shield
plate 5 forward and backward. Reference numeral 12 denotes an
operating lever 12 provided to the head protecting body 3. The
helmet wearer 2 holds the operating lever 12 with his fingers when
he wishes to pivot upward the shield plate 5, which is located at
the backward pivoting position, slightly forward.
As shown in FIGS. 8 to 10, the head protecting body 3 includes (d)
a full-face-type outer shell 13 which forms the circumferential
wall of the head protecting body 3, (e) a lower rim member 14 which
has a substantially U-shaped section and is attached with an
adhesive or the like to the outer shell 13 throughout substantially
the entire lower end of the outer shell 13, (f) a window opening
rim member 15 which has a substantially E-shaped section and is
attached with an adhesive or the like to a window opening 19,
formed in the outer shell 13 to form the window opening 4 of the
head protecting body 3, throughout substantially the entire
periphery of the window opening 19, (g) a ventilator 18 which has a
vent hole 16 and a shutter member 17 that can open/close the vent
hole 16 and is formed in that region in the vicinity of the nose
lower end of the outer shell 13 which opposes the vicinity of the
lower end of a nose 2c of the helmet wearer 2, (h) an air
straightening stabilizer 21 which is attached with an adhesive or
the like to the nape region of the outer shell 13 which opposes a
rear portion (that is, nape) 2d of the neck of the helmet wearer 2
to cover the lower rim member 14, (i) a head backing member 22
which is attached inside the outer shell 13 with an adhesive or the
like in contact with the inner surface of the outer shell 13 in a
front head region, a vertex region, left and right side head
regions and a back head region respectively corresponding to the
front part, vertex, left and right parts and back part of the head
of the helmet wearer 2, (j) a backing member 23 for the chin and
cheeks, which is attached inside the outer shell 13 with an
adhesive of the like in contact with the inner surface of the outer
shell 13 in a chin region and cheek regions respectively opposing a
chin 2e and cheeks 2f of the helmet wearer 2, and (k) a pair of
left and right neck pads 24a and 24b which partly cover the lower
surface of the backing member 22 for the head and the lower surface
of the backing member 23 for the chin and cheeks, respectively.
Although not shown, a ventilator (e.g., a front head part and/or
back head part ventilator provided to the outer shell 13 in the
vicinity of the boundary between the front head region and/or back
head region, and the vertex region) other than the ventilator 18
described in the above item (g) may be provided to the outer shell
13.
As has been well-known, the outer shell 13 can be made of a
composite material formed by lining the inner surface of a strong
shell body made of a hard synthetic resin, e.g., FRP, or another
hard material with a flexible sheet such as porous unwoven fabric.
As has been well-known, each of the lower rim member 14 and
stabilizer 21 can be made of a soft synthetic resin, e.g., foamed
vinyl chloride or synthetic rubber, or another soft material. As
has been well-known, the window opening rim member 15 can be made
of a highly flexible material such as synthetic rubber.
As shown in FIGS. 8 to 10, the backing member 22 for the head can
include an impact-on-the-head absorbing liner 25 disposed in the
outer shell 13, and a permeable backing cover 26 for the head which
is attached to the inner surface of the impact-on-the-head
absorbing liner 25 with an adhesive or the like so as to cover
substantially the entire inner surface of the impact-on-the-head
absorbing liner 25. The backing member 23 for the chin and cheeks
can include an impact-on-the-chin-and-cheek absorbing liner 27
disposed in the outer shell 13, and a pair of left and right
blockish inside pads 28a and 28b for the cheeks which are attached
to the inner surface of the impact-on-the-chin-and-cheek absorbing
liner 27 with an adhesive or the like in contact with the inner
surface of the liner 27 in left and right cheek regions
respectively opposing the let and right cheeks 2f of the helmet
wearer 2.
As has been well-known, the impact-on-the-head absorbing liner 25
and impact-on-the-chin-and-cheek absorbing liner 27 shown in FIGS.
8 to 10 can be made of a synthetic resin such as a foamed synthetic
resin (e.g., polystyrene foam) or another material with appropriate
rigidity and appropriate plasticity. As has been well-known, the
backing cover 26 for the head can be made of a combination of woven
fabric or porous unwoven fabric formed by laminating layers 31,
having appropriate shapes and made of an synthetic resin such as a
foamed synthetic resin (e.g., urethane foam) or another flexible
elastic material, on the surface (i.e., the outer surface) which
opposes the impact-on-the-head absorbing liner 25, or two side
surfaces. As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the layers 31 having the
appropriate shapes can have a comparatively thick layer portion 31a
in a region opposing the nape 2d of the helmet wearer 2, and a
comparatively thin layer portion 31b in the remaining region. A
plurality of elongated holes 32 can be formed in the backing cover
26 for the head to intermittently extend substantially in the
back-and-forth direction. A plurality of thin elongated
thermo-compression-bonded portions 33 can be formed in the thin
layer portion 31b to extend substantially in the back-and-forth
direction and left-to-right direction, respectively.
As has been well-known, the pair of left and right blockish inside
pads 28a and 28b for the cheeks shown in FIGS. 8 to 10 can be
formed of a pair of left and right thick plate-like cushion members
34 which are formed of a synthetic resin such as a foamed synthetic
resin (e.g., urethane foam) or another flexible elastic material,
and a pair of left and right bag-like members 35 which cover the
pair of left and right cushion members 34 like bags. As has been
well-known, the pair of left and right blockish inside pads 28a and
28b for the cheeks can include notches 36 (see FIG. 8) for the chin
straps 6.
As has been well-known, the pair of left and right neck pads 24a
and 24b shown in FIGS. 8 to 10 can be formed of a pair of left and
right thin plate-like cushion members 37 which are made of a
synthetic resin such as a foamed synthetic resin (e.g., urethane
foam) or another flexible elastic material, and a pair of left and
right flexible support members 38 which serve as flexible upper
skin members that cover the pair of left and right flexible cushion
members 37 substantially entirely like bags. As shown in FIG. 10,
the pair of upper and lower outer ends of each of the pair of left
and right support members 38 can be attached to the inner and outer
surfaces of the impact-on-the-chin-and-cheek absorbing liner 27
with an adhesive or the like, respectively. The outer ends of the
rear end portions of the pair of left and right neck pads 24a and
24b can be inserted between the outer shell 13 and
impact-on-the-head absorbing liner 25, and sandwiched and held
between them. As shown in FIG. 8, the pair of left and right neck
pads 24a and 24b cover the left and right ends of the lower surface
of the backing member 22 for the head and the left and right side
portions of the lower surface of the backing member 23 for the chin
and cheeks (more specifically, substantially the entire surfaces
excluding the front ends of the lower surfaces of the pair of left
and right blockish inside pads 28a and 28b for the chin and cheeks,
and the left and right side portions excluding the central portion
of the lower surface of the impact-on-the-chin-and-cheek absorbing
liner 27) from below.
In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 8 to 10, the pair of left and
right neck pads 24a and 24b shown in FIGS. 8 to 10 are attached to
the impact-on-the-chin-and-cheek absorbing liner 27 with an
adhesive or the like as described above and are not detachable.
Alternatively, the pair of left and right neck pads 24a and 24b may
be inserted between the outer shell 13 and
impact-on-the-chin-and-cheek absorbing liner 27, and sandwiched and
held between them so as to be detachable. In this case,
substantially plate-like to-be-attached members (not shown) made of
an elastic material can be respectively provided to the pair of
left and right neck pads 24a and 24b. The outer ends of the neck
pads 24a and 24b may be attached to the to-be-attached members with
an adhesive or the like. Then, the to-be-attached members may be
inserted between the outer shell 13 and the impact-on-the-head
absorbing liner 25 (and impact-on-the-chin-and-cheek absorbing
liner 27 when necessary) and detachably sandwiched and held between
them. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 8, the pair of left and
right neck pads are provided. Alternatively, a nape-side neck pad
portion may be provided between the left and right neck pads 24a
and 24b, and the nape-side neck pad portion and the left and right
neck pads 24a and 24b may be linked sequentially to form a
substantially U-shaped single neck pad as a whole.
2. Structure of Chin Cover
A full-face-type helmet chin cover 41 which is to be attached to
the full-face-type helmet 1 shown in FIGS. 8 to 10 as a single
product is shown as a single product in FIGS. 11 and 12. As shown
in FIGS. 11 and 12, the chin cover 41 has a substantially
plate-like elastic to-be-attached member (i.e., a to-be-attached
portion) 42, which serves as a shape holding member as well, is
curved substantially arcuately substantially in the horizontal
direction with its central portion projecting forward and rises in
the substantially vertical direction, and a substantially
crescent-shaped (a wide substantially crescent-like shape
substantially close to a half moon) flexible cover member 43 which
is attached to the elastic to-be-attached member 42 to enlarge
backward substantially in the horizontal direction. The elastic
to-be-attached member 42 can be monolithically molded of a
synthetic resin such as soft polyethylene or another elastic
material into a predetermined shape.
As shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, the flexible cover member 43 can
include a substantially crescent-shaped (a wide crescent-like shape
substantially close to a half moon) flexible cover main body 43a
having flexibility and a flexible rim member 43b which is attached
to the free end (i.e., a portion corresponding to the chord of the
crescent-like shape) of the flexible cover main body 43a by sewing
or the like to sandwich the free end. The flexible cover main body
43a can be attached to the elastic to-be-attached member 42 by
sewing that portion (i.e., a portion opposing the portion
corresponding to the chord) of the flexible cover main body 43a,
which corresponds to the crescent-shaped arc, to near the lower end
of the elastic to-be-attached member 42, or with an adhesive. That
portion of the cover member 43 which corresponds to the chord of
the crescent-shaped portion can be also configured a substantially
arcuate portion which is curved toward its portion corresponding to
the arc.
The flexible cover main body 43a may be made of poreless,
substantially non-permeable artificial leather, a poreless,
substantially non-permeable sheet-type member such as a synthetic
resin sheet, or a poor-permeable cloth material. As the flexible
cover main body 43a preferably has a large number of pores and is
permeable due to the following reason, it is preferably made of
porous, permeable mesh cloth such as lace cloth (e.g., double
raschel lace) obtained by lace-knitting lace yarn such as nylon
yarn. As shown in FIGS. 6 and 12, the flexible rim member 43b can
be formed of a stretchable, flexible tape-like member which is
obtained by covering, with appropriate cloth such as piled fabric,
a core member formed of, e.g., two rubber bands 44 that are
separate apart. In this case, the tape-like member 43b can be used
as it is bent into halves to sandwich the free end of the flexible
cover main body 43a such that the two rubber bands 44 overlap.
The elastic to-be-attached member 42 maintains substantially the
same shape when it is monolithically molded and when it is attached
to the full-face-type helmet 1 (see FIGS. 4 and 5). In a state
wherein the elastic to-be-attached member 42 is assembled to form
the chin cover 41 (i.e., a state wherein the flexible cover member
43 is already attached to the elastic to-be-attached member 42 but
the elastic to-be-attached member 42 is not yet attached to the
full-face-type helmet 1), as shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, the degree
of bend of the elastic to-be-attached member 42 in substantially
the horizontal direction is larger than in a state (see FIGS. 4 and
5) wherein the elastic to-be-attached member 42 is attached to the
full-face-type helmet 1. This is due to the following reason. The
flexible rim member 43b is stretched to a certain degree and
attached to the flexible cover main body 42a. The contracting force
of the flexible rim member 42b is applied to the elastic
to-be-attached member 42 as a force that increases the degree of
bend in substantially the horizontal direction. In the embodiment
shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, a notch 45 is formed in the upper end of
the central portion (i.e., the front end) in the left-to-right
direction of the elastic to-be-attached member 42 to indicate the
central position in the left-to-right direction of the elastic
to-be-attached member 42. However, the notch 45 can be omitted.
3. Structure of Neck Cover
A full-face-type helmet neck cover 51 which is to be attached to
the full-face-type helmet 1 shown as a single product in FIGS. 8 to
10 is shown as a single product in FIGS. 13 and 14. As shown in
FIGS. 13 and 14, the neck cover 51 has a substantially plate-like
elastic to-be-attached member (i.e., a to-be-attached portion) 52
which serves as a shape holding member as well, and a flexible
band-like cover member 53. The elastic to-be-attached member 52
extends in its lengthwise direction to be curved substantially in
an egg-like shape (a planar substantial egg-like shape)
substantially in the horizontal direction with its central portion
projecting backward, and extends in the widthwise direction
outwardly to be inclined obliquely upward. The outer peripheral
portion of the flexible cover member 53 is attached to the lower
end of the elastic to-be-attached member 52 so as to extend along
the elastic to-be-attached member 52 on the lower end side of the
elastic to-be-attached member 52. The flexible cover member 53 is
held in a substantially predetermined shape (that is, shaped-held)
by the to-be-attached member 52 serving also as the shape holding
member.
As shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, the elastic to-be-attached member 52
and flexible cover member 53 are respectively intermittent at
substantially the central portions of their front portions to form
substantially annular shapes having intermittent portions (i.e.,
gap portions) 52a and 53a as missing portions. Each annular shape
has substantially an egg-like shape (planar substantial egg-like
shape) with its front end side sharper than its rear side. The left
and right ends of the elastic to-be-attached member 52 and the left
and right ends of the flexible cover member 53 are present on the
left and right sides of the intermittent portions 52a and 53a,
respectively. The elastic to-be-attached member 52 can be
monolithically molded of a synthetic resin such as soft
polyethylene or another elastic material into a predetermined
shape. A plurality of elongated holes 54 as through holes can be
formed near the pair of left and right front ends of the elastic
to-be-attached member 52 so as to extend substantially parallel to
each other inclinedly. The elongated holes 54 improve the design,
and when the elastic to-be-attached member 52 is attached to the
head protecting body 3, the elongated holes 54 make firm the
bonding of the elastic to-be-attached member 52 and the head
protecting body 3. In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, a
notch 55 is formed in the upper end of the central portion (i.e.,
the rear end) in the left-to-right direction of the elastic
to-be-attached member 52 to indicate the central position in the
left-to-right direction of the elastic to-be-attached member 52.
However, the notch 55 can be omitted.
As shown in FIG. 14, the flexible cover member 53 preferably
includes a substantially plate-like flexible cushion member 56
which is made of only a foamed synthetic resin such as soft
urethane foam or soft foamed polyethylene, and a flexible support
member 57 which serves as a flexible surface skin member that
covers the flexible cushion member 56 substantially entirely like a
bag to support it. When the flexible cushion member 56 is
accommodated in the flexible support member 57, the flexible
support member 57 has substantially the same planar shape and the
same thickness as those of the flexible cover member 53. The planar
shape and thickness of the cushion member 56 are slightly smaller
than those of the flexible cover member 53 respectively by a value
substantially corresponding to the sum of the size of the support
member 57 and a very small gap between the cushion member 56 and
support member 57 and, a value substantially corresponding to the
sum of the thickness of the support member 57 and a very small gap
between the cushion member 56 and support member 57. As shown in
FIG. 14, a rubber band 58 is attached to substantially the entire
inner circumferential surface of the flexible cover member 53 by
sewing or the like to be substantially vertical.
The elastic to-be-attached member 52 maintains substantially the
same shape when it is monolithically molded and when it is attached
to the full-face-type helmet 1 (see FIGS. 17 and 18). In a state
wherein the elastic to-be-attached member 52 is assembled to form
the neck cover 51 (i.e., a state wherein the flexible cover member
53 is already attached to the elastic to-be-attached member 52 but
the elastic to-be-attached member 52 is not yet attached to the
full-face-type helmet 1), as shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, the degree
of bend of the elastic to-be-attached member 52 in substantially
the horizontal direction is larger than in a state see FIGS. 17 and
18 wherein the elastic to-be-attached member 52 is attached to the
full-face-type helmet 1, and the upper end of the elastic
to-be-attached member 52 is inclined outwardly rather than it is
upright in substantially the vertical direction. One of the reasons
for this is as follows. The rubber band 58 is stretched to a
certain degree and attached to the support member 57. The
contracting force of the rubber band 58 is applied to the elastic
to-be-attached member 52 as a force that increases the bend in
substantially the horizontal direction. Another reason for this is
as follows. As shown in FIG. 7, the elastic to-be-attached member
52 is attached to a bent portion which is formed by bending the
outer peripheral end of the support member 57. The restoration
force of the bent portion acts on the elastic to-be-attached member
52.
The cushion member 56 need not be made of only a foamed synthetic
resin but suffices as far as it is a flexible foamed synthetic
resin sheet (i.e., a substantially plate-like foamed synthetic
resin) which is mainly made of urethane foam, foamed polyethylene,
or the like. A surface skin layer may be formed on one or two
surfaces of the foamed synthetic resin sheet. As the surface skin
layer, a glass-wool sheet formed of glass-wool layers, a
polypropylene film, a polyester film, another synthetic resin film,
unwoven fabric, or the like can be used. The surface skin layer may
only be formed on one or two surfaces of the foamed synthetic resin
sheet by stacking, or with an adhesive. The surface skin layer may
be formed on one or two surfaces of the foamed synthetic resin
sheet by coating a synthetic resin such as polypropylene or
polyester. The cushion member 56 may be a laminated body of a
foamed synthetic resin which is formed by stacking a high-density
foamed synthetic resin sheet (e.g., a high-density urethane foam
sheet) and a low-density foamed synthetic resin sheet (e.g., a
low-density urethane foam sheet), or the like.
A depth D.sub.1 (see FIG. 7) of the cushion member 56 as a single
product is about 9 mm in the embodiment shown in FIG. 7. According
to the present invention, generally, an average thickness D.sub.1
of the flexible cushion member 56 as a single product falls
preferably within a range of 4 mm to 18 mm from the viewpoint of
practicality and further preferably within a range of 6 mm to 12
mm. The support member 57 is formed of a poreless, non-permeable,
flexible artificial leather sheet in the embodiment shown in FIG.
7. Alternatively, as the poreless, substantially non-permeable,
flexible sheet-type material, another sheet material such as a one
made of synthetic resin (e.g., synthetic rubber, polypropylene, or
polyester) may be used. The support member 57 may be formed by
sewing a plurality of sheet-type materials together, bonding them
with an adhesive or the like to form a bag as shown in FIGS. 13 and
14.
The permeability of the foamed synthetic resin that forms the
cushion member 56 of the flexible cover member 53 of the neck cover
51 is particularly devised to increase the sound-absorbing
properties of the flexible cover member 53. To explain this, two
practical examples of the flexible cover member 53 in the
embodiment shown in FIG. 7 will be described.
PRACTICAL EXAMPLE 1
A cushion member 56 formed of only a soft urethane foam sheet
having a thickness D.sub.1 (see FIG. 7) of about 9 mm was covered
substantially entirely by a flexible support member 57 formed of an
artificial leather sheet substantially like a bag to fabricate a
flexible cover member 53. When the urethane foam sheet was measured
by using the Frajour type method based on JIS L 1096, its
permeability K was 4.5 cc/cm.sup.2sec and its density was 40
kg/cm.sup.3.
PRACTICAL EXAMPLE 2
A flexible support member 57 made of thick permeable cloth was
adhered with an adhesive to one surface of a cushion member 56
formed of only a soft urethane foam sheet having a thickness
D.sub.1 (see FIG. 7) of about 9 mm to fabricate a flexible cover
member 53. The shape of the thick cloth was substantially the same
as or more or less larger than that of one surface of the cushion
member 56. When the urethane foam sheet was measured by using the
Frajour type method based on JIS L 1096, its permeability K was 1.5
cc/cm.sup.2sec and its density was 50 kg/cm.sup.3.
Soft urethane foam which is usually used as the cushion member of
this type is basically made of open cell bodies. In contrast to
this, the soft urethane foam used in the practical examples 1 and 2
is a material the permeability of which is very small and the
flexibility of which is not particularly low. This soft urethane
foam is obtained with an original composition and foaming technique
so that the cell membranes are left as much as possible to decrease
open cells and increase closed cells. In this case, the cells
(particularly open cells) are few in the vicinity of one or two
surfaces of the soft urethane foam sheet, and comparatively many
cells can be formed between the two surfaces (i.e., in the central
portion).
According to the present invention, the permeability K of the
foamed synthetic resin as the main constituent material of the
cushion member 56, which is measured by using the Frajour type
method based on JIS L 1096, falls generally within a range of 0.1
to 10 cc/cm.sup.2sec, preferably within a range of 0.2 to 5
cc/cm.sup.2sec and more preferably within a range of 0.3 to 2
cc/cm.sup.2sec from the viewpoint of practice. The density of the
foamed synthetic resin falls generally preferably within a range of
20 to 80 kg/m.sup.3, more preferably within a range of 25 to 70
kg/m.sup.3 and most preferably within a range of 30 to 60
kg/m.sup.3 from the viewpoint of practice. In this case, the range
of the density of 20 to 80 kg/m.sup.3 substantially corresponds to
the range of the permeability K of 0.1 to 10 cc/cm.sup.2sec. The
range of the density of 25 to 70 kg/m.sup.3 substantially
corresponds to the range of the permeability K of 0.2 to 5
cc/cm.sup.2sec. The range of the density of 30 to 60 kg/m.sup.3
substantially corresponds to the range of the permeability K of 0.3
to 2 cc/cm.sup.2sec. When the permeability K is 2 (exclusive) to 10
cc/cm.sup.2, sec, generally, the cushion member 56 is particularly
desirably covered like a bag substantially entirely by a
non-permeable flexible sheet material. If the permeability K is 0.1
to 2 (inclusive) cc/cm.sup.2, sec, generally, the necessity that
the cushion member 56 should be covered like a bag substantially
entirely by a non-permeable flexible sheet member, in the same
manner as in practical example 1, is not so high. The cushion
member 56 may be covered like a bag substantially entirely by a
permeable flexible sheet material (e.g., permeable cloth). In this
case, a comparatively large opening is formed in one or two
surfaces of the flexible sheet material, and the cushion member 56
need not be covered like a bag. Alternatively, only a sheet-type
member may be adhered to one surface of the cushion member 56, in
the same manner as in practical example 2.
The cushion member 56 is made of urethane foam in the embodiment
shown in the drawings. If the permeability K measured by using the
Frajour type method based on JIS L 1096 falls within the
predetermined numerical range as described above, the cushion
member 56 may be made of another flexible foamed synthetic resin
such as foamed polyethylene.
4. How to Attach Chin Cover and Neck Cover to Helmet
The procedure of attaching the chin cover 41 shown in FIGS. 11 and
12 and the neck cover 51 shown in FIGS. 13 and 14 to the head
protecting body 3 of the full-face-type helmet 1 shown in FIGS. 8
to 10 will be described in "(i) How to Attach Chin Cover to
Helmet", "(ii) How to Attach Neck Cover to Helmet" and "(iii) How
to Attach Both Chin Cover and Neck Cover to Helmet" with reference
to the accompanying drawings.
(i) How to Attach Chin Cover to Helmet
When attaching the chin cover 41 shown in FIGS. 11 to 12 to the
full-face-type helmet 1 shown in FIGS. 8 to 10, first, the elastic
to-be-attached member 42 of the chin cover 41 is widened in
substantially the horizontal direction, and the degree of its bend
in substantially the horizontal direction is decreased to the state
shown in FIGS. 4, 5 and 15.
Subsequently, as shown in FIGS. 15 and 16, the elastic
to-be-attached member 42 is inserted between the outer shell 13 and
impact-on-the-chin-and-cheek absorbing liner 27 (more specifically,
between the inner peripheral surface of the lower rim member 14 and
the outer peripheral surface of the impact-on-the-chin-and-cheek
absorbing liner 27) starting with its upper end substantially
upward from substantially below. This insertion can be performed
until the proximal end of the flexible cover main body 43a of the
flexible cover member 43 abuts against the lower end of the lower
rim member 14 and is position-regulated, as shown in FIG. 6. In
this state, the elastic to-be-attached member 42 is contact-bonded
between the inner peripheral surface of the lower rim member 14 and
the outer peripheral surface of the impact-on-the-chin-and-cheek
absorbing liner 41. For this purpose, the elastic to-be-attached
member 42 and accordingly the chin cover 41 are attached to the
head protecting body 3 so as not to drop easily. When removing the
chin cover 41 from the head protecting body 3, the proximal end or
the like of the flexible cover member 43 may be held with the hand
and strongly pulled downward. In this case, the elastic
to-be-attached member 42 is extracted substantially downward
through between the inner surface of the lower rim member 14 and
the outer surface of the impact-on-the-chin-and-cheek absorbing
liner 27.
In the state shown in FIGS. 15 and 16 as well wherein only the chin
cover 41 is attached to the head protecting body 3 of the
full-face-type helmet 1, the helmet wearer 2 can put the
full-face-type helmet with the chin cover on his head and ride the
motorbike. In other words, in the state shown in FIGS. 15 and 16 as
well, the full-face-type helmet 1 can be used as a full-face-type
helmet with a chin cover. In this case, the flexible cover member
43 covers the chin 2e of the helmet wearer 2 from below.
The relationship between the lower end face of the full-face-type
helmet 1 of the full-face-type helmet with the chin cover shown in
FIGS. 15 and 16 and the chin cover 41 shown in FIGS. 11 and 12 will
be described with reference to FIG. 5. More specifically, in FIG. 5
(in other words, the embodiment shown in FIG. 5), the area of a
lower opening 61 (more specifically, the region surrounded by the
inner surface of the lower rim member 14; this applies to the
following description) of the outer shell 13 of the full-face-type
helmet with the chin cover is about 39,000 mm.sup.2 The
circumferential length (i.e., the sum of a circumferential length
L3 (to be described later) and a circumferential length L5 (to be
described later)) of the lower opening 61 of the outer shell 13 is
about 720 mm. In contrast to this, the proportion of the area of
the chin cover 41 (more specifically, the flexible cover member 43)
in the area of the lower opening 61 is about 23% (i.e., about 9,000
mm.sup.2). An average width W1 (see FIG. 5) of the flexible rim
member 43b of the flexible cover member 43 is about 10 mm. The
proportion of a circumferential length L1 (see FIG. 5) of the
flexible cover member 43 along the circumference of the lower
opening 61 in the circumferential length (L3+L5) of the lower
opening 61 of the outer shell 13 is about 40% (i.e., about 290 mm).
The proportion of the area of the flexible cover main body 43a in
the area of the lower opening 61 is about 18% (i.e., about 7,000
mm.sup.2). A circumferential length L2 of the flexible cover main
body 43a along the circumference of the lower opening 61 in the
circumferential length (L3+L5) of the lower opening 61 of the outer
shell 13 is about 36% (i.e., about 260 mm).
From the viewpoint of practicality, the various values described
above in FIG. 5 generally preferably fall within the numerical
ranges described in the following items (1) to (11) according to
the present invention. In the items (1) to (11), the numerical
ranges in parentheses are further preferable numerical ranges. (1)
The area of the lower opening 61: 28,000 mm.sup.2 to 52,000
mm.sup.2 (32,000 mm.sup.2 to 48,000 mm.sup.2) (2) The
circumferential length (L3+L5) of the lower opening 61: 600 mm to
840 mm (640 mm to 800 mm) (3) The proportion of the area of the
flexible cover member 43 in the area of the lower opening 61: 14%
to 34% (18% to 28%) (4) The area of the flexible cover member 43:
5,600 mm to 13,000 mm (7,200 mm to 11,000 mm) (5) The average width
W1 of the flexible rim member 43b: 5 mm to 20 mm (7.5 mm to 15 mm)
(6) The proportion of the circumferential length L1 of the flexible
cover member 43 along the circumference of the lower opening 61 in
the circumferential length (L3+L5) of the lower opening 61: 28% to
52% (34% to 46%) (7) The circumferential length L1 of the flexible
cover member 43 along the circumference of the lower opening 61:
200 mm to 380 mm (240 mm to 340 mm) (8) The proportion of the area
of the flexible cover main body 43a in the area of the lower
opening 61: 8% to 26% (12% to 22%) (9) The area of the flexible
cover main body 43a: 4,400 mm.sup.2 to 10,200 mm.sup.2 (5,600
mm.sup.2 to 8,600 mm.sup.2) (10) The proportion of the
circumferential length L2 of the flexible cover main body 43a along
the circumference of the lower opening 61 in the circumferential
length (L3+L5) of the lower opening 61: 24% to 48% (30% to 42%)
(11) The circumferential length L2 of the flexible cover main body
43a along the circumference of the lower opening 61: 180 mm to 340
mm (220 mm to 300 mm)
When the helmet wearer 2 puts the full-face-type helmet with the
chin cover shown in FIGS. 15 and 16 on his head and rides the
motorbike, the traveling wind which blows the chest of the helmet
wearer 2 and is directed toward the chin 2e is interrupted by the
flexible cover member 43 of the chin cover 41 to a certain degree.
Hence, the traveling wind is prevented to a certain degree from
entering the head accommodating space 8 of the full-face-type
helmet with the chin cover helmet through the gap between the lower
end of the chin cover 3a of head protecting body 3 and the chin 2e
of the helmet wearer 2. Also, a sound which is generated by the
traveling wind as it is caught in the ventilator 18, another
ventilator (e.g., a front head and/or back head ventilator which is
formed in the outer shell 13 in the vicinity of the boundary
between the front head region and/or back head region, and the
vertex region), the stabilizer 21, or the like of the helmet is
interrupted more or less by the flexible cover member 43 of the
chin cover 41. Therefore, the sound generated by the traveling wind
is prevented more or less from entering the head accommodating
space 8 of the helmet through the gap between the lower end of the
chin cover 3a of the head protecting body 3 and the chin 2e of the
helmet wearer 2.
The flexible cover main body 43a of the flexible cover member 43 is
preferably made of a poreless, substantially non-permeable or
poor-permeable sheet-type material such as an artificial leather
sheet cloth material, or the like when considering only the effect
of preventing the traveling wind and the sound generated by it from
entering the head accommodating space 8 of the full-face-type
helmet with the chin cover through the gap between the lower end of
the chin cover 3a of the head protecting body 3 and the chin 2e of
the helmet wearer 2. When considering both the effect of preventing
entering of the traveling wind and the sound generated by it, and
the effect of anti-fogging the shield plate 5, the flexible cover
main body 43a of the flexible cover member 43 is preferably made of
porous, highly permeable mesh cloth.
(ii) How to Attach Neck Cover to Helmet
When attaching the neck cover 51 shown in FIGS. 13 and 14 to the
full-face-type helmet 1 shown in FIGS. 8 to 10, the elastic
to-be-attached member 52 of the neck cover 51 is enlarged in
substantially the horizontal direction, and the degree of its bend
in substantially the horizontal direction is decreased to the state
shown in FIGS. 4, 5 and 17. Simultaneously, as shown in FIGS. 17
and 18, the elastic to-be-attached member 52 is inserted between
the outer shell 13 (more specifically, the inner peripheral surface
of the lower rim member 14), and the outer peripheral surfaces of
the neck pads 24a and 24b, the outer peripheral surface of the head
backing member 22 and outer surface of the backing member 23 for
the chin and cheeks starting with its upper end substantially
upward from substantially below. This insertion can be performed
until the proximal end of the flexible cover member 53 abuts
against the lower end of the lower rim member 14 or the lower end
of the stabilizer 21 and is position-regulated, as shown in FIG. 7.
In this state, the elastic to-be-attached member 52 is
contact-bonded between the inner peripheral surface of the lower
rim member 14 or the inner peripheral surface of the stabilizer 21,
and the outer peripheral surface of the impact-on-the-head
absorbing liner 25. For this purpose, the elastic to-be-attached
member 52 and accordingly the neck cover 51 are attached to the
head protecting body 3 so as not to drop easily. When removing the
neck cover 51 from the head protecting body 3, the proximal end or
the like of the flexible cover member 53 may be held with the hand
and strongly pulled downward. In this case, the elastic
to-be-attached member 52 is extracted substantially downward
through between the inner peripheral surface of the lower rim
member 14 or stabilizer 21, and the outer peripheral surface of the
head backing member 22 and the outer peripheral surfaces of the
neck pads 24a and 24b.
In the state shown in FIGS. 17 and 18 as well wherein only the neck
cover 51 is attached to the head protecting body 3 of the
full-face-type helmet 1, the helmet wearer 2 can put the
full-face-type helmet with the neck cover on his head and ride the
motorbike. In other words, in the state shown in FIGS. 17 and 18 as
well, the full-face-type helmet 1 can be used as a full-face-type
helmet with a neck cover. In this case, the flexible cover member
53 covers the neck (excluding the central portion of the front
portion of the neck) of the helmet wearer 2 as shown in FIG. 18
(see FIGS. 3 and 4).
The relationship between the lower end face of the full-face-type
helmet 1 of the full-face-type helmet with the neck cover shown in
FIGS. 17 and 18, and the neck cover 51 shown in FIGS. 13 and 14
will be described with reference to FIG. 5. More specifically, in
FIG. 5 (in other words, the embodiment shown in FIG. 5), the
proportion of the area of the neck cover 51 (more specifically, the
flexible cover member 53) in the area of the lower opening 61 (more
specifically, the region surrounded by the inner surface of the
lower rim member 14; this applies to the following description) of
the outer shell 13 of the full-face-type helmet with the neck cover
is about 60% (i.e., about 23,000 mm.sup.2). The proportion of the
circumferential length L3 (see FIG. 5) of the flexible cover member
53 along the circumference of the lower opening 61 in the
circumferential length (L3+L5) of the lower opening 61 of the outer
shell 13 is about 86% (i.e., about 620 mm). The inner
circumferential length (excluding the left and right end faces 59a
and 59b; this applies to the following description) L4 of the
flexible cover member 53 is about 520 mm. In the state shown in
FIGS. 13 and 14 wherein the neck cover 51 is not attached to the
helmet 1, the inner circumferential length L4 is about 400 mm.
Therefore, the proportion of the inner circumferential length L4 of
the flexible cover member 53 to the circumferential length (i.e.,
outer circumferential length) L3 of the flexible cover member 53
along the circumference of the lower opening 61 is about 84%.
From the viewpoint of practice, the various values described above
in FIG. 5 generally preferably fall within the numerical ranges
described in the following items (12) to (18) according to the
present invention. In the items (12) to (18), the numerical ranges
in parentheses are further preferable numerical ranges. (12) The
proportion of the area of the flexible cover member 53 in the area
of the lower opening 61: 38% to 88% (48% to 74%) (13) The area of
the flexible cover member 53: 14,000 mm.sup.2 to 34,000 mm.sup.2
(18,000 mm.sup.2 to 28,000 mm.sup.2) (14) The proportion of the
circumferential length L3 of the flexible cover member 53 along the
circumference of the lower opening 61 in the circumferential length
(L3+L5) of the lower opening 61: 70% to 94% (80% to 90%) (15) The
circumferential length L3 of the flexible cover member 53 along the
circumference of the lower opening 61: 500 mm to 680 mm (580 mm to
650 mm) (16) The inner circumferential length L4 of the flexible
cover member 53: 340 mm to 580 mm (420 mm to 560 mm) (17) The
proportion of the inner circumferential length L4 of the flexible
cover member 53 to the outer circumferential length L3 of the
flexible cover member 53: 58% to 94% (70% to 88%) (18) The inner
circumferential length L4 of the flexible cover member 53 in a
state wherein the neck cover 51 is not attached to the helmet 1:
260 mm to 460 mm (320 mm to 440 mm)
When the helmet wearer 2 puts the full-face-type helmet with the
neck cover shown in FIGS. 17 and 18 on his head and rides the
motorbike, a traveling wind which blows the chest of the helmet
wearer 2 and is directed toward the chin 2e, a traveling wind from
ahead of the helmet, and other traveling winds are interrupted by
the flexible cover member 53 of the neck cover 51 to a considerable
degree. Hence, the traveling winds are prevented to a considerable
degree from entering the head accommodating space 8 of the
full-face-type helmet with the neck cover through the gap between
the lower end of the head protecting body 3 and around the neck of
the helmet wearer 2. Also, a sound which is generated by the
traveling wind as it is caught in the ventilator 18, another
ventilator (e.g., a front head and/or back head ventilator which is
formed in the outer shell 13 in the vicinity of the boundary
between the front head region and/or back head region, and the
vertex region), the stabilizer 21, or the like of the
full-face-type helmet 1 is interrupted to a considerable degree by
the flexible cover member 53 of the neck cover 51. Therefore, the
sound generated by the traveling wind is prevented to a
considerable degree from entering the head accommodating space 8 of
the helmet through the gap between the lower end of the head
protecting body 3 and around the neck of the helmet wearer 2.
(iii) How to Attach Both Chin Cover and Neck Cover to Helmet
When attaching both the chin cover 41 shown in FIGS. 11 and 12 and
the neck cover 51 shown in FIGS. 13 and 14 to the full-face-type
helmet 1 shown in FIGS. 8 to 10, both the operation described in
the above item (i) of attaching the chin cover 41, and the
operation described in the above item (ii) of attaching the neck
cover 51 may be performed. In this case, while the chin cover 41
can be attached first and then the neck cover 51 can be attached,
preferably, the neck cover 51 can be attached first and then the
chin cover 41 can be attached due to the reason to be described
later. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the chin cover 41 can cover the
intermittent portion 53a of the flexible cover member 53 of the
neck cover 51, and in accordance with the attaching procedure of
the chin cover 41 and neck cover 51, can cover the left and right
front ends of the flexible cover member 53 of the neck cover 51
from the lower or upper side. Hence, as shown in FIG. 4, the lower
opening 61 of the outer shell 13 is covered substantially annularly
by the chin cover 41 and neck cover 51. When removing the chin
cover 41 and neck cover 51 from the head protecting body 3, the
cover (e.g., the chin cover 41) which is attached later can be
removed first, and then the cover (e.g., the neck cover 51) which
is attached first can be removed as described in the above items
(i) and (ii).
In the state shown in FIGS. 1 to 7 wherein both the chin cover 41
and neck cover 51 are attached to the head protecting body 3 of the
full-face-type helmet 1, the helmet wearer 2 can put this
full-face-type helmet with the chin cover/neck cover on his head
and drive the motorbike. In other words, in the state shown in
FIGS. 1 to 7, the full-face-type helmet 1 can be used as a
full-face-type helmet with a chin cover/neck cover. In this case,
the flexible cover member 43 of the chin cover 41 covers the chin
2e of the helmet wearer 2 from the lower front portion to the lower
portion. The flexible cover member 53 of the neck cover 51 covers
the neck (excluding the central portion of the front portion of the
neck) of the helmet wearer 2 as shown in FIG. 18 (see FIGS. 3 and
4). Therefore, as shown in FIG. 4 (see FIG. 5), the neck of the
helmet wearer 2 is covered substantially entirely by at least one
of the chin cover 41 and neck cover 51. If the neck cover 51 is
attached to the head protecting body 3 first and then the chin
cover 41 is attached, even if the neck cover 51 is thick, in the
vicinity of the overlapping portion of the chin cover 41 and neck
cover 51, the forward step formed by the thickness of the neck
cover 51 does not substantially appear to the outside, as shown in
FIG. 2. Therefore, the traveling wind is effectively prevented from
relatively colliding against the step.
The relationship between the lower end face of the full-face-type
helmet 1 of the full-face-type helmet with the chin cover/neck
cover shown in FIGS. 1 to 7, and the chin cover 41 shown in FIGS.
11 and 12 and the neck cover 51 shown in FIGS. 13 and 14 will be
described with reference to FIG. 5. More specifically, in FIG. 5
(in other words, the embodiment shown in FIG. 5), the proportion of
the area of the flexible cover member 43 (more specifically, that
portion of the flexible cover member 43 which does not overlap the
flexible cover member 53 of the neck cover 51) of the chin cover 41
in the area of the lower opening 61 (more specifically, the region
surrounded by the inner surface of the lower rim member 14; this
applies to the following description) of the outer shell 13 of the
full-face-type helmet with the chin cover/neck cover is about 11%
(i.e., about 4,300 mm.sup.2). The proportion of the circumferential
length L5 (see FIG. 5) of the flexible cover member 43 (more
specifically, that portion of the flexible cover member 43 which
does not overlap the flexible cover member 53) along the
circumference of the lower opening 61 in the circumferential length
(L3+L5) of the lower opening 61 of the outer shell 13 is about 14%
(i.e., about 100 mm). The proportion of the area of the flexible
cover main body 43a (more specifically, that portion of the
flexible cover main body 43a which does not overlap the flexible
cover member 53) of the flexible cover member 43 of the chin cover
41 in the area of the lower opening 61 is about 10% (i.e., about
3,900 mm.sup.2). From the viewpoint of practice, the various values
described above in FIG. 5 generally preferably fall within the
numerical ranges described in the following items (19) to (24)
according to the present invention. In the items (19) to (24), the
numerical ranges in parentheses are further preferable numerical
ranges. (19) The proportion of the area of that portion of the
flexible cover member 43, which does not overlap the flexible cover
member 53, in the area of the lower opening 61: 7% to 16% (9% to
13%) (20) The area of that portion of the flexible cover member 43
which does not overlap the flexible cover member 53: 2,700 mm.sup.2
to 6,200 mm.sup.2 (3,400 mm.sup.2 to 5,200 mm.sup.2) (21) The
proportion of the circumferential length L5 of that portion of the
flexible cover member 43, which does not overlap the flexible cover
member 53, along the circumference of the lower opening 61 in the
circumferential length (L3+L5) of the lower opening 61: 6% to 30%
(10% to 20%) (22) The circumferential length L5 of that portion of
the flexible cover member 43, which does not overlap the flexible
cover member 53, along the circumference of the lower opening 61:
40 mm to 220 mm (70 mm to 140 mm) (23) The proportion of the area
of that portion of the flexible cover main body 43a, which does not
overlap the flexible cover member 53, in the area of the lower
opening 61: 6% to 16% (8% to 14%) (24) The area of that portion of
the flexible cover main body 43a which does not overlap the
flexible cover member 53: 2,400 mm.sup.2 to 5,800 mm.sup.2 (3,000
mm.sup.2 to 4,800 mm.sup.2)
When the helmet wearer 2 puts the full-face-type helmet with the
chin cover/neck cover shown in FIGS. 1 to 7 on his head and rides
the motorbike, a traveling wind which blows the chest of the helmet
wearer 2 and is directed toward the chin 2e, a traveling wind from
ahead of the helmet, and other traveling winds are largely
interrupted by the flexible cover member 53 of the neck cover 51
and the flexible cover member 43 of the chin cover 41. Hence, the
traveling winds are largely prevented from entering the head
accommodating space 8 of the full-face-type helmet with the chin
cover/neck cover through the gap between the lower end of the head
protecting body 3 and around the neck of the helmet wearer 2. Also,
a sound which is generated by the traveling wind as it is caught in
the ventilator 18, another ventilator (e.g., a front head and/or
back head ventilator which is formed in the head protecting body 3
in the vicinity of the boundary between the front head region
and/or back head region, and the vertex region), the stabilizer 21,
or the like of the full-face-type helmet 1 is largely interrupted
by the flexible cover member 53 of the neck cover 51 and the
flexible cover member 43 of the chin cover 41. Therefore, the sound
generated by the traveling wind is largely prevented from entering
the head accommodating space 8 of the helmet through the gap
between the lower end of the head protecting body 3 and around the
neck of the helmet wearer 2.
However, the flexible cover main body 43a of the flexible cover
member 43 of the chin cover 41 is made of a porous, permeable cloth
material. A traveling wind which blows upward in the head
accommodating space 8 through the flexible cover main body 43a and
the like effectively prevents the inner surface of the shield plate
5 from fogging. An external voice and sound also reach the head
accommodating space 8 through the flexible cover main body 43a and
the like. Thus, the helmet wearer 2 can listen to the external
voice and sound with a reduced volume.
FIG. 19 shows experimental data in comparison on the full-face-type
helmet with the chin cover/neck cover (to be referred to as the
"helmet with the covers" hereinafter) shown in FIGS. 1 to 7 and the
full-face-type helmet 1 as a single product (to be referred to as
"a single-product helmet" hereinafter) shown in FIGS. 8 to 10. In
FIG. 19, data indicated by a solid line shows the case of the
helmet with the covers, and data indicated by a broken line shows
the case of the single-product helmet. The flexible cover main body
43a of the flexible cover member 43 of the chin cover 41 is made of
double raschel lace.
The experiments the data of which is shown in FIG. 19 were
conducted also in manners described in the following items (A) and
(B).
(A) A measurement microphone (tie pin type microphone [model No.
AT805F] manufactured by Audio-Technica Corporation) was attached
near the left ear of a human head model (not shown), and the helmet
with covers and the single-product helmet were sequentially mounted
on the human head model in turn. (B) The human head model described
in the above item (A) was arranged in a wind tunnel to face forward
while it was inclined downward by 15.degree.. A wind with a wind
velocity of 100 km/h was blown to the human head model from ahead
along the wind tunnel. The frequency characteristics of sound
pressure level (dB) were measured from the output current level of
the measurement microphone to obtain data on the two helmets shown
in FIG. 19.
As a result, as shown in FIG. 19, in the audio frequency range (15
Hz to 20,000 Hz) of the sound waves, particularly between 100 Hz
and 5 kHz (5,000 Hz), the sound pressure level (solid line) of the
helmet with the covers was considerably lower than the sound
pressure level (broken line) of the single-product helmet.
The embodiment of the present invention has been described above in
detail. The present invention is not limited to this embodiment,
and various changes and modifications can be made based on the
spirit of the invention described in the claims.
For example, in the above embodiment, the chin cover 41 and neck
cover 51 are attached to the ordinary full-face-type helmet 1. The
chin cover 41 and neck cover 51 can also be attached to a
full-face-type helmet serving also as a jet type helmet, in which a
chin cover 3a can be lifted upward.
In the above embodiment, the elastic to-be-attached member 52 and
flexible cover member 53 of the neck cover 51 respectively have the
intermittent portions 52a and 53a. The intermittent portions 52a
and 53a are not always necessary, and the elastic to-be-attached
member 52 and flexible cover member 53 may have substantially
annular shapes with no intermittent portions 52a and 53a. In this
case, preferably, in place of the intermittent portion 53a, a
notch, e.g., a horizontally elongated notch (i.e., a notch which
extends backward from the front end of a substantially annular
flexible cover member 53 and/or a notch which extends forward from
the rear end) which serves as a missing portion is formed in the
front end side and/or rear end side of the central portion of the
front portion of the flexible cover member 53, or a hole, e.g., a
horizontally elongated hole which serves as a missing portion is
formed in the central portion of the front portion of the flexible
cover member 53. Then, at the missing portion, at least part of the
central portion of the flexible cover member 43 of the chin cover
41 can be prevented from overlapping the flexible cover member 53
of the neck cover 51.
In the above embodiment, each of the to-be-attached portion 42 of
the chin cover 41 and the to-be-attached portion 52 of the neck
cover 51 is formed of an elastic to-be-attached member which serves
as a shape holding member as well. One or both of the
to-be-attached portions 42 and 52 need not serve as the shape
holding members, and each of them may be another attaching
mechanism or part of it, that can attach the chin cover 41 and/or
the neck cover 51 to the head protecting body 3 in the state shown
in FIGS. 4 and 5. For example, the to-be-attached portion 42 or 52
can be one recess/projection engaging element (e.g., a projection
engaging element) of a recess/projection engaging mechanism which
attaches the flexible cover member 43 of the chin cover 41 and/or
the flexible cover member 53 of the neck cover 51 to the head
protecting body 3. In this case, the other recess/projection
engaging element (e.g., a recess engaging element) which can engage
with one recess/projection engaging element through
recess/projection engagement can be provided to the head protecting
body 3.
In the present invention, when necessary, a mutual link mechanism
which links the left and right side portions of the chin cover 41
with the left and right side portions of the neck cover 51 may be
provided. Such a mutual link mechanism can be a recess/projection
engaging mechanism as described above.
* * * * *